On 14 June 1877, Henry Ossian Flipper was the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, earning a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. Henry was born into slavery on March 21 1856 in Thomasville Georgia, owned by slave trader Ephraim G. Ponder. Henry’s family were extraordinary. One of his younger brother’s, […]
On June 7 1839 the Hawaiian Declaration of Rights was signed. Proclaimed by Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) on June 7, 1839, the Declaration of Rights—often called Hawaiʻi’s first Bill of Rights—affirmed natural rights for both the makaʻāinana (people) and aliʻi (chiefs), including protection of life, limb, and property and freedom of worship. It marked a shift […]
The largest naval battle of World War I between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet took place over the 31 May and 1 June 1916. 9,823 men died in an inconclusive battle where no fleet was victorious with both sides claiming victory. The German fleet, however, never put to sea again […]
On 24 May 1798 a rebellion led by the United Irishmen rose up against the British Crown. Its aims to unite the Presbyterian minority with the majority Catholic population and create an Irish Republic, free from British control. Risings took place across Ireland but by August the British forces had reduced the rebels to pockets […]
On 17 May 1861 the first colour photograph of a tartan ribbon was shown by Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell to the Royal Institution in London The Scots scientist James Clerk Maxwell was born at 14 India Street, Edinburgh, 13 June 1831. This great physicist presented the first durable colour photograph in 1861, and showed that any colour can be […]
On 3 May 1926 the Trade Union Congress called for the UK’s first-ever general strike. It began at 1 minute to midnight in support of striking coal miners and lasted 9 days “Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day.” Over seven years, since the ending of World War 1, the […]
On 26 April 1986 he world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred when the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union exploded, resulting in 31 deaths and radioactive contamination spreading to much of Western Europe. Following the explosion, which killed two engineers and severely burned two others, an emergency operation began to put out […]
On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin in Vostok 1 completed one orbit of Earth. He was the first person to travel into Space in a flight which took 108 minutes. Yuri Gagarin was a pilot with the Soviet Air Forces. He was born on 9 March 1934 in the village of Klushino, in the Western Oblast, near […]
On 5 April 1902 a stand collapsed at Ibrox Park, Govan, Scotland, killing 25 people and injuring 500. “The ground, which was laid out two years ago, at a cost of more than £20,000, was regarded as one of the finest arenas for athletic sports in the United Kingdom. ” – Illustrated London News, Saturday […]
On 29 March 845 1,500 Vikings in 120 ships under the leadership of Ragnar Lodbrok sailed up the Seine and to Paris. They entered the city and did what they have become infamous for – plundering. Warning : Facts interspersed with fiction. The Viking force set up a camp, however, disease broke out and many […]
First they came for. On 22 March 1933, the Dachau concentration camp was opened in Nazi Germany to house political prisoners and dissidents of the state. It expanded to include forced labour. It further increased to intern Jews, Romani, Germans, and Austrians that the Nazi Party regarded as criminals, and, finally, foreign nationals from countries […]
On 15 March 1906, women in Finland gained the right to vote. A first for European countries. Finland was asserting itself as an independent nation and resisting Russian control. It was becoming more industrialised and women formed an essential part of the workforce. The Finnish Women’s Association was established in 1884. The push for enfranchisement […]
On 8 March 1978, Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was first broadcast over the airwaves on BBC Radio 4. The series follows the adventures of hapless Englishman Arthur Dent and his friend Ford Prefect, an alien who writes for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a pan-galactic encyclopaedia and travel guide. After Earth is destroyed in the […]
On 1 March 1953 after an all-night movie and dinner session with his top advisers, Joseph Stalin suffered a stroke and collapsed. He died four days later.
On 22 February 1997 scientists at the Roslin Institute, Scotland announced that they had cloned an adult mammal, producing Dolly the sheep, born on 5 July 1996. Dolly was the first cloned mammal ever to be created from an adult cell. She was named after the famous Country singer Dolly Parton. Many thought that cloning […]
On 8 February 1968 the film Planet of the Apes premiered at the Capitol Theatre in New York City. The film was loosely based on the novel by Pierre Boulle. It was a hit at the box office and produced 4 sequels. Set far into the future the film resonates with themes relevant to today including the […]